Archive for the ‘Numbered Course’ Category

Playing with the NDAL is a simple matter. We’re running three separate leagues based on the size of the working space. So, if you have a working space big enough you can participate in any or all of the three leagues.

Each of the leagues also has a flavor or level of difficulty for the courses played.

60 x 90

The focus of the 60′ x 90′ league is to provide smooth and flowing courses focusing on basic to intermediate skills. Of course there will be challenges …

That is not to say that this league is reserved for Novice players. That’s not the idea at all. At the end of the day we wanted a league offering that didn’t make people’s heads hurt when walking the course… preferring instead, something logical and smooth.

League Rules and Stipulations ~ 1st Quarter Series 2015

The league will run three months with a separate competition held each month.

Three distinct league competitions shall be conducted each month, based on the size of the working space and by level of challenge. The 1st Quarter Series shall be:50×70 ~ Focusing on masters skillsFranchise clubs are free and encouraged to participate in all three of the ongoing leagues.

Numbered courses and games shall be scored according to Top Dog Agility rules for performance. Any game can be used so long as placements are clearly defined and the game can be played by all participants in a timely fashion (about one hour).

For each of the three separate leagues team results and MVP (Most Valuable Puppy) statistics will be tracked by the League Secretary and reported back to the league membership at the termination of the league schedule.

The League Secretary shall be responsible for maintaining a roster ofw teams, posting results of league competitions and accumulated scores in a timely fashion. The League Secretary shall be eligible to participate in competition with one or more dogs.

Determining Team and MVP Scores

Team scores will be determined by placement and LPP earned by the top scoring five dogs for each participating franchise.

MVP scores will be determined by placement and total accumulated LPP. The team and dog with the highest accumulated points after eight weeks shall be determined the winner.

Ties between two or more teams shall be resolved by standing in secondary and tertiary league competitions.Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Bud Houston Houston.Bud@gmail.com. The web store is up and running. www.dogagility.org/newstore. You’ll find in the web store The Book of Agility Games, an invaluable reference to clubs engaged in league play.

Jumping Into the League

We welcome all new clubs who would like to establish league franchises. The National Dog Agility League stands apart from most agility organizations in the world. This is not a titling organization; and it’s really inexpensive to play.

Think of it this way… The National Dog Agility League is the only world championship forum to which all dogs are invited.

You can download the score-keeping worksheet for final game of the Winter 2015 series here: Scoresheet.

Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Bud Houston Houston.Bud@gmail.com. The web store is up and running. www.dogagility.org/newstore. You’ll find in the web store The Book of Agility Games, an invaluable reference to clubs engaged in league play.

Time Stands Still

This is a game originally designed as a training protocol, specifically to teach and proof a 2-on/2-off contact performance. The training game has been elevated to a gritty game of competition.

Ostensibly this is a simple follow-the-numbers game. However, the game has special rules for timing. When the teeter has tipped (and is touching the floor) the time will stop. Once the dog leaves the ramp time will begin again.

Note that initially time begins when the dog first dismounts the teeter.

Since time is essential to the conduct of the game, the judge should personally carry and operate a stopwatch in order to use his own judgment in measuring the dog’s time to complete the course [and to what extent time stands still.]

Time Stands Still is scored Time, Plus Faults.

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Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Bud Houston Houston.Bud@gmail.com. The web store is up and running. www.dogagility.org/newstore. You’ll find in the web store The Book of Agility Games, an invaluable reference to clubs engaged in league play.

Winter League Announcement

The 2015 Winter Series shall be only two months, using a 50′ x 50′ working space. The League Rules and Stipulations for the Winter Series shall be published no later than tomorrow.

The first game course map, scoring worksheet and current rosters will be sent out to existing franchise clubs on October 2. Any new club interested in joining play should contact the: League Secretary.

Final Results October Competition

B&D Creekside of Latrobe, PA was the last franchise club reported results for the final game of the summer 2015 series of the National Dog Agility League.

Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Bud Houston Houston.Bud@gmail.com. The web store is up and running. www.dogagility.org/newstore. You’ll find in the web store The Book of Agility Games, an invaluable reference to clubs engaged in league play.

K9 Manners & More of Broken Arrow, OK has reported results for the final game of the summer 2015 series of the National Dog Agility League.

Mary Green writes “On Sunday, we ran 30 dogs, had 3 clean runs. The rest of us were humbled. Back to training…”

In the view of the National Dog Agility League K9 Manners & More is an excellent club that approaches the game with a sense of fun and adventure. This club embodies the spirit of play that is the fundamental mission of the NDAL. We’re pleased and proud to have this club playing with us each month!

You can view those results OCT RESULTS. We are expecting results from one more franchise club. Though it’s possible we can be surprised by the unexpected new league club.

Jumping in to the League

If you have interested in jumping into League Play, the October workbook for the final game of the summer series can be downloaded HERE. We’ll be accepting results for this event through the end of the day, October 31st.

League Split

We’re planning a two month series beginning in November that will be based on a 50′ x 50′ field size. Kama Rueschenberg (Cave Creek, Arizona) has been invited to design one of the two games. She has not yet confirmed.

We’ve known all along that the size of the competition field is an important component of league play. Effective in 2016 we’ll be splitting into two leagues based on field size: 50×50 and 60×70. A club/franchise will be able to compete in both leagues, so long as their competition space fully supports both field sizes.

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Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Bud Houston Houston.Bud@gmail.com. The web store is up and running. www.dogagility.org/newstore. You’ll find in the web store The Book of Agility Games, an invaluable reference to clubs engaged in league play.

Jumping in to the League

If you have interested in jumping into League Play, the October workbook for the final game of the summer series can be downloaded HERE. We’ll be accepting results for this event through the end of the day, October 31st.

League Split

We’re planning a two month series beginning in November that will be based on a 50′ x 50′ field size. Kama Rueschenberg (Cave Creek, Arizona) has been invited to design one of the two games. She has not yet confirmed.

We’ve known all along that the size of the competition field is an important component of league play. Effective in 2016 we’ll be splitting into two leagues based on field size: 50×50 and 60×70. A club/franchise will be able to compete in both leagues, so long as their competition space fully supports both field sizes.

Blog1063 NDAL

Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Bud Houston Houston.Bud@gmail.com. The web store is up and running. www.dogagility.org/newstore. You’ll find in the web store The Book of Agility Games, an invaluable reference to clubs engaged in league play.

Three more clubs have reported results for the final game of the summer 2015 series of the National Dog Agility League. K9 Powersports in Grand Junction, CO; Dachshund Hill Agility (DHA) of New Glarus, WI; and ClickerPets Mexico in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico have reported. You can view those results OCT RESULTS.

League Standing

Lifetime Performance Points have been calculated showing the League standing from the Fall series. You can view those standings here: Fall Series Standings. Several clubs have not yet reported. We can expect some substantial changes in LPP accumulation as LPP are recalculated.

Jumping in to the League

If you have interested in jumping into League Play, the October workbook for the final game of the summer series can be downloaded HERE. We’ll be accepting results for this event through the end of the day, October 31st.

Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Bud Houston Houston.Bud@gmail.com. The web store is up and running. www.dogagility.org/newstore. You’ll find in the web store The Book of Agility Games, an invaluable reference to clubs engaged in league play.

Program news for Top Dog

NatGeoTV plans to publish a program featuring Top Dog and the National Dog Agility League. This is not a series. But we are inclined to want to blow their socks off and make it very clear that it should be a series. The plan is for February of 2017 in conjunction with the events surrounding Westminster.

The format that I have envisioned all along is a competition between the two top franchises in the NDAL league. That means that accrued scores for each club in 2016 will qualify the teams for the on-air competition. At the same the play will be open to anyone in the world who wants to put up the course, utilizing basic social networking tools for the recording and aggregation of scores.

Obviously we’d like to see the league expand.

Jumping in to the League

The workbook for October, the final game of the series, can downloaded HERE.

If you have interested in jumping into League Play, you barely have time to play on the second course of the summer league. The workbook can be downloaded here: September League.

While it is too late to compete in the first course of the summer series, you are invited to run that course and record your scores with all previous competitors. The August workbook can be downloaded here: August League

The score-keeping workbook for the out-of-league course can be downloaded here: Pick-up Game

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Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Bud Houston Houston.Bud@gmail.com. The web store is up and running. www.dogagility.org/newstore. You’ll find in the web store The Book of Agility Games, an invaluable reference to clubs engaged in league play.

Jumping in to the League

If you have interested in jumping into League Play, you still have time to play on the second course of the summer league. The workbook can be downloaded here: September League.

While it is too late to compete in the first course of the summer series, you are invited to run that course and record your scores with all previous competitors. The August workbook can be downloaded here: August League

The score-keeping workbook for the out-of-league course can be downloaded here: Pick-up Game

Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Bud Houston Houston.Bud@gmail.com. The web store is up and running. www.dogagility.org/newstore. You’ll find in the web store The Book of Agility Games, an invaluable reference to clubs engaged in league play.

The final course of the summer series is a numbered course designed by Game Master Steve Schwarz.

Each of league clubs will get the scorekeeping workbook for October with their current rosters upon submitting the September league results. For anyone who’d like to establish a new league franchise download the scorekeeping workbook HERE.

The Catalog of Games

As league participation increases some clubs might be interested in weekly competitions that coincide with regularly scheduled classes.

With this in mind, the Catalog of Games has been updated with all National Dog Agility League games and courses that have published results. The courses are organized by the size of the field; so it should be relatively easy to find a challenging game or course that fits in your working space. Download the Catalog of Games HERE.

If dog agility is to remain a game we play with our dogs and our friends, we first want to shift the focus away from the infrequent and costly qualifying attempt to a light-hearted and weekly romp in the park. As well as being just plain fun, it league play also serves to strengthen relationships with our dogs. As we lighten up and get more chances to play the game, our mood lifts, our nerves settle, and our dogs have a much better time.

Running a league sounds very involved and time-consuming. But the benefits far outweigh your efforts. A wonderful sense of community is built around league teams. And every league course presents an abundance of training objectives.

Jumping in to the League

If you have interested in jumping into League Play, you still have time to play on the first course of the summer league. The workbook can be downloaded here: September League.

While it is too late to compete in the summer league, you are invited to run that course and record your scores with all previous competitors. The August workbook can be downloaded here: August League

The score-keeping workbook for the out-of-league course can be downloaded here: Pick-up Game

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Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Bud Houston Houston.Bud@gmail.com. The web store is up and running. www.dogagility.org/newstore. You’ll find in the web store The Book of Agility Games, an invaluable reference to clubs engaged in league play.